Handheld device output down 21.7 percent: ITIS

Staff writer, with CNA

Wed, Aug 21, 2013 - Page 14

The production value of Taiwan’s handheld device sector in the second quarter of the year fell more than 20 percent from a year ago, reflecting of a lack of new models and slowing demand for high-end smartphones, according to a government research agency.

Industry and Technology Intelligence Services (ITIS) said in a report that output for the April-to-June period fell 21.7 percent from last year to NT$124.3 billion (US$4.14 billion).

However, second-quarter output, including cellphones and personal navigation devices (PNDs), rose 42.9 percent from the first quarter, the report said.

The research institute said that some local Windows phone makers suffered from vendors not launching new models during the three-month period.

Many international smartphone brands faced falling demand for high-end models, meaning that local contract makers saw production value for the first half of the year fall more than 20 percent from a year earlier.

In the second quarter, the production value of Taiwanese cellphone makers fell 25.1 percent from a year earlier to NT$97.6 billion, but rose 46.9 percent from the first quarter, according to the research report.

Meanwhile, the nation’s output of global positioning systems (GPS) was impacted by falling demand for PNDs due to the widespread use of smartphones, ITIS said.

For the April-to-June period, GPS output fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier to NT$26.4 billion, but was up 30 percent from the first quarter, the report said.

ITIS said the production value of Taiwan’s handheld devices is expected to total NT$501.5 billion this year, down 7.4 percent from last year.

Meanwhile, the output of the Internet communications equipment sector is likely to rise 4.2 percent this year from last year to NT$416 billion, while output of the communications service sector is expected to rise 7.6 percent from annually to NT$429.4 billion, ITIS said.